Recorder bar



Jam 394'? w. G. H. FINIcI-I EAI/3,9@

RECORDER BAR IN V EN TOR.

Jam 7, "M471 w. G. H. FHNCH RECORDER BAR Filed Sept. 16, 1944 Sheets-Sheet 2 mi. G. H. FNCH ARECORDER BAR wie@ sept. 15, 1944 Sheets-Sheet 3 kmo 3947, w. G. H. FINCH RECORDER BAR 4 Sheets-Sheet '4 Filed Sept. 16, 1944 l Nw L@ Patented Jan. 7, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECORDER BAR William G. H. Finch; Newtown, conn. Application September 16, 1944, Serial No. 554,427

2 claims. (C1. 23e-70) My present invention relates to facsimile scanning systems and more particularly to scanning means for use in connection with chemically treated paper at a facsimile receiver.

Essentially, my invention contemplates the use of a helical type of scanning device in place of the stylus. That is, ythe chemically treated paper on which a record is to be made is unwound from a roll of material and by appropriate feeding devices moved along with respect to a drum and blade. The paper moves over a blade which is spring biased toward the drum. The drum has a one-turn helical wire secured thereto.

The use of the single helical wire types of scanner in connection with a spring biased blade as contemplated by the present invention eliminates excessive wear and trouble in prior stylus type facsimile receivers. The single wire has no single point of excess wear and is completely supported by the drum on which it is wound. The wire thus need not necessarily be limited to a diameter as small as 1/100 of an inch, since its contact'with the paper and pressure on the paper against the knife blade is only tangential. Consequently, the wire may be even larger in diameter. The edge of the knife blade, however, against which the paper is pressed should be of the order of l/mo of an inch or less in width. This blade, however, is a stationary member spring biased into contact with the helical wire and not subject to excessive wear. Y

Accordingly, another object of my invention is the provision of a facsimile scanning device for a facsimile receiver intended to act on chemically treated paper wherein the scanning device and elements in contact with the paper will not be subject to excessive wear.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of the helical wire type scanning device for facsimile scanning systems especially adapted for facsimile receivers.

These and many other objects of my invention will become apparent in the following figures and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view illustrating the principle of operation of my invention. l

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a device embodying my invention.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of one side of the device of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of the other side of the device of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a View of the knife rblade taken from line 5-5 of Figure 4 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

the scanning drum I2.

2 Figure 6 is a `view of the knife blade taken from line 6 6 of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view of the knife blade and scanning drum taken at line l-I of Figure 2. y

Referring now to Figure l, I have hereV shown in highly schematic form the principles embodied in my invention. The chemically treated p`aper I0 passes over the knife blade II and beneath Scanning drum I2 has secured thereto in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by welding, soldering or brazing, the wire I3 which is wound helically in one turn of the order of 360 around the drum I2. The paper I0 and drum I2 are stationary just before the start of any scanning operation. Also, at the start, or just `before the start of any scanning operation, portion I3 of the wire I3 is in position where it is about to press the paper IIJ against the knife blade II.

When the scanning operation begins, the drum I2 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow I4, and the paper is moved 1/100 of an inch in the direction indicated by the arrow I5-that is, the full movement of the paper l0 during a complete revolution of the drum l2 is 1/um of an inch. During this'revolution of the drum I2 and the movement of the paper I0, continuously succes-v sive portions of the wire I3 are brought into contact with the paper I0 and the blade II. The point of contact passes along the wire I3 from portion I3 to portion I 3"..

Consequently, the point of contact I3a, during a single revolution of the drum I2, moves entirely across the paper I0 in the direction indicated by the arrow 20.

The drum I2 and the feed mechanism hereinafter described for the chemically treated paper Ill are interrelated so that each revolution of the drum I2 produces a movement of the paper I 0, in the direction indicated by the arrow I5 for a distance of the order of 1/100 of an inch. That is, where the scanning lines are 100 lines per inch, then the paper will be moved 1/100 of an inch during the scanning operation. Where the scan- -ning operation is at lines per inch, then the paper will be moved forward 1/su of an inch during the scanning operation. The drum I2 will make a complete revolution during each scanning operation to produce a single line. At the end of each scanning operation, the drum I2 will be brought to a stop and on receipt of a synchronizing impulse will start once more. Immediately after the portion I3" of the wire I3 has left press the same against the paper at the completion of the scanning operation, the portion I3 of the wire I3 is in position to begin the scanning operation. Consequently, no return movementl or lost motion of any kind is required for scanning. Nor are a multiplicity of scanning styli required for this purpose.

It will be obvious, therefore, thatran extremely highy speed of scanning may be maintained. Where synchronism is not an important factor, the scanning operation may be absolutely continuous-that is, the drum I2 may rotate con.- tinuously and, by reason of the integrated drive between the drum I2 and the feed for the paper Hl, the scanning lines on the paper I will follow each other at appropriately spaced intervals of 1/ioo of an inch or 1/60 of an inch depending on the degree of intelligibility required.

Where the driving motors for the transmitter and receiver are highly accurate so that a variation in speed of no more than between the two systems will exist, synchronization is not es sential. Where, however, extremely accurate results are required, then the drum I2 may be synchronized in a manner shown in connection with Patent No. 2,295,572. While this patent does not show synchronization of a helical scanner device, the synchronizing system described therein is applied to control of the movement of the drum carrying the paper and may as readily and without any variation at all be applied to the scanning drum l2 of the. present invention. Accordingly, such synchronizing systems require no specific description here, and the specific synchronizing system constitutes no specific part of the present invention, except, of course, that synchronizingzsystems may be'useol.

In Figures 2, 3 and 4, I have shown a specific embodiment of the invention of Figure l wherein al1 of the elements are rnountedonthe base 25. Shaft 21 of lmotor 26 is by means of the coupling 28 connected to the shaft V29' which rotatesin bearing. Shaft 2B drives gear 32 which.' in turn, drivesv the larger gear 33. Gear 33 is mounted on shaft 34, which is rotatably mounted on the swinging bracket arm 35 hereinafter described. GearV 3S also mounted on shaft 34 drives the larger gear 3l mounted on shaft 38, which in turn is rotatably mounted on the swinging bracket 35. Small gear 39' also mounted on` shaft 33 drives the larger gear t!) mounted on the shaft I. Shaft lli is journalled in the bearing 42 of swinging bracket 35 and carries at its inner end one disc All of the clutch d5. `The other disc iS of clutch 45 is driven by disc i4 by meansof the friction plate lli; the said disc i6 of clutch i5 is connected to and drives the `soanningdrum I2. Shaft 5i? of the scanning drum I2 is appropriately journalled at one side within the 'clutch 45 and at they other side in the Vswinging bracket 35.

Swinging bracket' 35 Yis pivotally mounted about the stud 5| on the bearingii;v The swing.- ing bracket 35. is pivotally mounted about the shaft 2S. The brackets 35 and 35 have eXtensions l55 and 5E respectively by which they may be'manually grasped and. lifted up. When the ends 55 and 55 are lifted, the brackets rotate about their respectiveV pivots 29 and 5l to lift up the scanning drum I2 and the'associated gear train therefor. This permits simplified threading of the paper through the mechanism in a manner hereinafter described;

' Guide rollers {il} and 6 i' for the paper are mounted respectively on shafts. 2 and S3,Y which are journalled in opposite swinging brackets 35 and 35. When the swinging brackets 35 and 35 are lifted up together with the scanning drum I2 and the guide rollers 69 and Si, then, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the paper i8 may be threaded over roller @il under the scanning drum l2 and over roller I and then to the paper draw rolls 7B and 'H which are operated in a manner hereinafter described.

The ends and 55 of the swinging brackets are slotted at l2 and l2" respectively in order to receive the locking device '15. The locking device on each side comprises a standard l5 on which the end 55 or 55 rests. The standard 'Itis provided with a vertical slot Vs within which is pivotally mounted at i8 the locking bar le. The locking bar i9 is threaded at its vupper end and a nut Bill is mounted thereon. When the end of thev swinging bracket 35 is placed on top of the standard 16, the locking Ybar i9 is swung upwardly so that it enters the slot l2 of the end` 55 of member 35V, and the nut 8l)V is then tightened downen top of the extension 55 of the swinging bracket 35 to hold the same securely in place.

When it is desired to raise the scanning drum l2 and the swinging bracket `55 in order to rethread the paper or for other purposes, then theA nut Ell-need only be loosened and the locking bar 'I9 be swung aside so that these members may be raised.

The paper draw rolls vl!!Y and 'II are driven from the shaft 59 of the scanningv drum I2. The worm gear 85 (Figures 2` and 3) mounted ontheextension 8E of `shaftwlV through bracket 35' drives the spiral gear 87- moun-ted on shaft 8E'. ShaftV 88 is journalled in appropriate bearings in the stand*- ards 90 and 9|v mounted on the base 25. AWorm gear 93 on shaft 38 drives the spiral gear S on ther upper draw roll i0. Appropriate tensioning means maybe provided with respect to l the drawl rolls 15J and H- to drive lt'hern together so that the drive of the draw roll iii will cause rotation ofthe draw roll 'Hz Draw rolls iii and it haver an appropriate friction surface in order to readily draw the paper lo between them.

The paper if) is provided in the form of the, supply roll I mounted on an appropriate shaft IGI and is drawn therefrom under the guide roll' H92, then over thev guide roll under the scanning drum i2, over the guide roll 6I', and then through the draw rolls 'lo and-"HA which' draw the paper out. Appropriate tensioning means may, if deSireCL'be provided on the sha-it ill lof the supply roll It@ to ensure an even'feed of paper.'

Thel blade Il is mounted on the" transverse standard HIJ supported on the base 25' of the apparatus. As seen in Figures 5 and?, the transverse standard IIS is a solid member supported by appropriate brackets HI, Iii v on Ythe base;v

Member it@ has a groove i201 in the upper surfaceY thereof, the said groove communicating' with. a number of vertical holes H25'. The blade i! is Y an inverted T shaped-member having the blade portion II as above described anda flange base 22 which rests inthe groovev I2@ on thev base thereof. Compression springs i25- in each of'the vertical holes I2 IV bear upwardly against Athe-iiange |22 of the blade I I tending to drive the blade up. The blade il is prevented from accidental re moval by the top plate |30 having the slot i3! (Figures 5 and 7) through which. the plate I/l projects, slot ISI being sufciently. narrowso that the fia-nge. I22A cannot be pushedV t ere-l through. When the swinging bracketsffand 35 `are raised, the compression springs I25 can drive the blade II up so that the nange |22 bears against the underside of the top blade ill. When, however, the swinging brackets 35 and 35 are lowered, the wire I3 on the scanning drum I 2 presses the plate II down against the action oi compression springs i25 as shown in Figure 7. When the chemically treated paper lil has been threaded through in the manner previously described and the swinging bracket arms and 35 have been lowered, the scanning wire I3 on scanning drum I2 presses the paper against the blade II.

Now as previously described in connection with Figure l, for each revolution of the scanning drum l2, the portion of the Wire I3 in contact with the paper lil and blade II traverses the scanning drum longitudinally and thus traverses the paper. The plurality of springs 25 ensure that there will always be appropriate pressure between the Wire I3 and the blade II at the point of contact so that this moving point on Wire I3 acts as a fulcrum on which the rigid blade II pivots. A synchronizing system exactly like that disclosed in the specification oi United States Letters Patent No. 2,295,572, may be applied to the scanning drum I2 and may act on the plate le of clutch 45. Where such a start-stop synchronizing system is used, eXtreme accuracy in the facsimile reproduction will be obtained.

The amount of the wire in contact with the paper and the blade is determined by the softness of the paper itself; that is, the extent to which the paper will be compressed by the wire pressing against the blade. For this purpose, therefore, the springs |25 pressing the blade upwardly should exert just sufficient pressure to obtain good contact of the blade against the paper and the paper against the wire Without compressing the paper. However, since such chemically treated papers may be very thin and the coatings thereon very fine, the paper has substantially no compressibility and the marking thereon will be exceedingly sharp, determined, since the blade is a non-iiexible rigid member as shown in Figure "I, only by the tangential portion of the wire in contact with the paper and the area of the paper in contact with the blade.

The wear on the recording element is not confined to a, single small area of 1/io of a square inch, but to longitudinal elements of relatively tremendous area which are successively brought into contact with the paper.

Thus a further difficulty which frequently occurred in connection with stylus recording is obviated. Previously, the sharp point of the stylus tended sometimes to scratch the recording paper and often collected dust and particles which (owing to the content of the paper itself) often consisted of carbon particles which tended to smudge the recording,

By the utilization of my present apparatus, a sharp point which would tend to collect such particles is obviated. Also, by my invention, a Wire of a diameter greater than .01 inch may be used to make a line .01 inch wide or even less.

In the foregoing, I have described my invention only in connection with a specific preferred embodiment thereof. Many variations and modiications of my invention should now be obvious to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, I prefer to be bound not by the specic disclosures herein but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a facsimile receiver of the type having a rotatable drum and a helical member projecting from the surface thereof; a blade mounted adjacent said drum, the edge of said blade extending along a line parallel to the axis of said drum, spring members engaging the rear edge of said blade and causing its front edge to bear against said drum, said blade having a depth such that it forms a non-iiexible rigid constrwtion in its longitudinal direction, said spring members causing said rigid blade to bear tangentially against and pivot on a point on helical member, rotation of said drum causicng the pivot point on said helical wire to move along said blade, said blade supporting means compi ing a longitudinal support for said a gro in the surface of said support for receiving and guiding the base of said blade, recesses in said support communicating with said groove, said spring members being positioned in said recesses and bearing against the rear edge o'r said blade. and means :for limiting the movement oi said blade out of said groove under the influence ol said spring members.

2. In a facsimile receiver oi the type having a rotatable drum and a helical member projecting from the surface thereof; a blade mounted adjacent said drum, the edge oi said blade extending along a line parallel to the axis of said drum, spring members engaging the rear edge of said blade and causing its front edge to bear against said drum, said blade having a depth such that it forms a non-flexible rigid construction in its longitudinal direction, said spring members cauzing said rigid blade to bear tangentially against and pivot on a point on said helical retainer, rotation of said drum causing the pivot point on said helical wire to move along said blade, said blade supporting means comprising a longitudinal support for said blade, a groove in the surface of said support for receiving and guiding the base of said blade, recesses in said support communicating with said groove, said spring members being positioned in said recesses and bearing against the rear edge of said blade, means for limiting the movement of said blade out of said groove under the influence of said spring members, said means comprising a ange extending from the base of the blade, and means at the open end of said groove engaging said flange.

WILLIAM G. H. FINCH. 

